


Let The Storm Descend

by yaodai



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, This is actually not a crack, Women In Power, ezra bridger as the universal moral compass, maul has no plan, nobody told him that time travelers are supposed to stick to the known chain of events either, obi-wan vs the surreal reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 04:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9367076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaodai/pseuds/yaodai
Summary: Maul would be great at this time travelling shtick, if not for the fact that he managed to break everything during the first five minutes.





	1. The Cross-Dimensional Plea

  


"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

However all Obi-Wan was able to do at the moment was to stare.

Darth Mauls face twisted in a disgusted grimace as soon as the words left his mouth.

That was just... odd. He expected anything, starting with taunts and a kick to the face, but this definitely was straight out of the realm of surreal.

Obi-Wan decided to concentrate on things that made sense; for all he know, everything could be simply a mind game of some sort. Something created just to provide him with a false sense of safety, something to trick

He was still on his knees, wearing a stolen Mandalorian Armor painted black and red, with a wide collection of cuts and bruises blossoming under it. The skin on the left side of his face burned from an explosion that happened too close and it smelled like burned hair. His hands were strapped behind his back too tight, but the armor did good job of protecting his wrists from being cut by the wire.

The throne room was oddly empty. Even the two men of Death Watch who dragged him in left, leaving just him and Darth Maul.

Was that a trap?

Or the Sith merely decided that he was not dangerous at all? That would be utterly stupid, but then, the Dark Side could destroy the mind of its user with ease. Obi-wan saw it happen to some, heard stories of what had happened who risked reaching out for it in hopes of gaining power.

Darth Maul however, did not look like a deranged maniac. Well, not as much as the last time Obi-Wan saw him.

Right now the Sith was leaning against the throne, with hands crossed on his chest, with his attention elsewhere. He wasn't even looking at Obi-Wan, his yellow eyes wandering between the high window on one side and the corridors leading deeper into the palace.

One of his prosthetic legs looked different than the other. There was definitely a story behind that, one that involved a battle with an opponent strong enough to cut his limb off. It didn't look new either.

Well, Obi-Wan decided, it's not like there was no war in the Galaxy. Quite far from that. Whatever Maul was doing, it appeared that he was much more active than they knew.

He was wearing loose black pants and no shirt for whatever reason - was it laundry day, or something? And why in the world he was thinking about Sith doing laundry right now?

Priorities!

"Where's the Duchess?" Obi-Wan asked. His throat was dry and voice hoarse. Talking hurt.

"That's a good question," Maul hummed.

Before Obi-Wan managed to ask just what that supposed to mean, another person entered the throne room and Obi-Wan felt like his blood froze up in his veins.

It was a boy, a teenager, still quite short, still not grown fully into his features, with a mop of dark hair. The uneven fringe was partially obscuring his bright blue eyes, contrasting vividly with dark skin.

"So?" Maul asked the newcomer. "Where did you send the Duchess?"

"Naboo?" the teen answered with a shrug. There was no fear in a way he was moving around, no reaction at all when the Sith grimaced at him.

"Why Naboo?"

"Uh... I have no idea? It just sounded nice, okay?"

Maul sighed. "What of my brother?"

"Naboo."

"And the Death Watch."

"Naboo," the teen repeated. "They all believe they went off on a vacation trip to talk about the future of Mandalore."

Obi-Wan stared at the boy. What he was talking about, it was impossible. However the young man had no reason at all to lie to Darth Maul. And the words were pretty easy to understand. Somehow this young boy was able to influence other sentient being, even Force sensitive being to such terrifying extent.  

"Just... who are you?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Jabba," was the immediate answer.

"You clearly are not," Obi-Wan replied. The lie was so obvious it was bordering with being plain offensive.

"And you are like, what, our prisoner?" the teenager asked and walked towards Obi-Wan. "You look like one."

He stopped right in front of Obi-Wan, looking down at him with his head slightly tilted to the side. Then he knelt down and started...

At first it looked like just the usual pat-down, search for any hidden weapons, but then the kid somehow find things that definitely were no weapons.

"Are...Are you robbing me?" Obi-Wan asked with bewilderment.

"Yes," the teenager shamelessly nodded, hiding the wallet in his own pocket.

"If you're done, would you like to tell me where you are supposed to be, Jabba?"

"Uh..." the kid chewed on his lower lip. "On the trip to Naboo?"

"Precisely," Mauls eyes narrowed. "So pray tell, why are you not there?"

"And you're what, stupid?" the kid snorted and stood up, showing no fear at all. "You think I'll just leave you alone?"

Obi-Wan looked between the two, desperately trying to understand just what was going on.

First Duchess Satine Krize asked - begged - for help, because the Death Watch took over her planet.

Obi-Wan had to pretty much sneak out of Coruscant to come to help her out, but busting the Duchess out of prison led only to her being recaptured and his current situation. Which he was unable to comprehend at all.

Darth Maul pinched the bridge of his nose with a resigned groan.

"Fine," he finally growled. "You are going to find a ship."

"That's still sending me off!" the teen called "Jabba" protested.

"And without a method of transportation everyone will die," Maul cut him off. "Now, off you go."

The kid looked like he was about to argue some more, but ended up simply throwing his hands up the air and then he marched off.

Maul stepped away from the throne, slowly walking towards Obi-Wan, his steps echoing in the mostly empty room.

There were so many things off Obi wan didn't eve know where to start.

There was that mysterious boy - who walked of with his wallet, damn it! - who was not afraid of Darth Maul at all, the Death Watch left Mandalore for some reason and so did Savage Opress. Then, there was Darth Maul himself.

Up close, there were other things off about him. He appeared to be... more lean than few months before, not exactly thin, but still, he looked different. There was no angry grimace on his face either, just a furrow of his brow that was making him look...how exactly? Annoyed? Stressed? Obi-Wan was unable to put a finger on it.

"What do you want from me?" he asked instead. He walked right into whatever Darth Maul was planning, now he knew it for a fact. The Duchess, she was the bait, the prison break it was all just a farce to get him in this specific place in this specific time.

"As I have said before, Kenobi," Maul looked down at him. "I require your help."

"Why me?" Obi-Wan asked. "Why now?"

"Can't you feel it?" Maul asked. "Soon, he will be here."

Obi-Wan wanted to ask just what the Zabrak was talking about, but then the presence of whoever Maul was talking about became to noticeable to miss. It was... overwhelming and dark, something made of pure terror, something that pushed the air out of his lungs by merely existing.

"Yes," Maul said, his voice soft and calm. "You have noticed him, didn't you? The man I once called a master. Ironically enough, you bow your head in front of him too."

"What are you talking about?"

"Why do you think the Jedi were transformed from protectors into war mongrels? Why this war is having no visible end at all?"

"You are saying something like that," Obi-Wan pointed his chin up, because his hands were still bound behind his back. "Was somehow not noticed by the Jedi? All of them?"

"Kenobi," Maul said softly, kneeling next to him, close enough to make it uncomfortable." Concentrate. Can you tell I am here?"

Of course he could, the blasted Sith was enough to fell his breath when he talked. He was so uncomfortably close it would be impossible to miss his presence. And someone so vile in the Force should be even more...

Obi-Wan gasped, his eyes widening in ear as sudden understanding came the very moment he concentrated on the Force.

"As you can see, everything is possible," Maul continued softly, yellow eyes hungrily devouring every little thing Obi-Wan was giving away. "And it's all a part of a plan. A plan that would led to the fall of the Jedi and the birth of the Galactic Empire."

These words were not making sense, they had no sense at all, but he could detect no lie in the Force. If anything, it was singing to him with urgency, close to physically pushing him towards the Sith. 

Playing along for now, Obi-Wan decided, mentally nodded to the Force. He still needed to know much, much more before making any decision and the Zabrak seemed to be the only source of it. A willing source, even, through the only thing that Kenobi was currently certain was:

"You want to betray your master," Obi-Wan said.

Maul snorted, as if Obi-Wan just told a bad joke.

"I want to break him," he said. "And to break a man you need to find what is his most precious possession."

"And yet you're attacking an idea," Obi-Wan pointed out. A Galactic Empire? This was a bit much, even if there truly was a Sith hidden among the people who were able to influence Jedi.

"What else?" Maul asked, cocking his head to the side. "His apprentice? He would simply pick someone better suited to his needs. He will do that even without me acting in any way at all."

He was talking like it all: switching apprentices, the Empire, everything was already a fact, like it was something impossible to avoid.

Obi-Wan didn't know what to think about this. All he knew was that the mysterious Sith already let go of one of his apprentices. No reason to not repeat the feat. It was a very cold way of thinking... but someone who made even Maul want to cooperate with Jedi was definitely one of a kind. It all still sounded like a lie, like something absolutely impossible to happen. But if Maul wanted a revenge on him, Obi-Wan was currently on his knees, with hands bound behind his backs. All Maul needed to do was to activate his lightsaber. Or even a blaster.

Obi-Wan bit his lip. Maul was right, no matter for how very wrong reasons he was doing all this. His Master needed to be unmasked, his schemes needed to be stopped, because otherwise, the entire Galaxy would suffer terribly. It already was.

"What is your plan?"


	2. The Sith Lord

Chapter 2: The Sith Lord

  

Obi-Wan Kenobi was becoming less and less happy with every passing minute.

First, the Council decided against helping Mandalore because it was a neutral system - a thing he and Satine and Senator Amidala were fighting so hard for for years - so he was forced to go against their wishes. The consequences would be dire, he knew it already; it was one big show of having well developed attachments he wasn't supposed to have in the first place.

After a lot of fighting, shooting and developing quite a collection of bruises and random scraps, Obi-Wan learned that the Duchess wasn't planetside anymore and the whole conflict that tore the peaceful planet apart was just a trap.  
So many lives lost due to just two men fighting each other. So many people left with nothing but the clothes on their back and scars in their mind, so much tragedy ripping through the Force like a blazing storm.

Obi-Wan wanted to hurt Darth Maul. He really did. For all this suffering this man inflicted on the Galaxy, for the innocent he murdered on a whim.  
Vengeance was not the Jedi way, he knew that, he repeated it over and over to his own Padawan, but tempting, it definitely was.  
Still, he couldn't stop himself for wondering just how much better everything would be if the Zabrak died on Naboo.

Obi-Wan shook his head. Thinking like that was wrong. There were things called trials and people called judges for reasons and he was neither of those.  
He could now feel Mauls presence in the Force, but only because the Zabrak was letting it spill over. It was filled with anger and disruptive, surprisingly cold for someone with such a temper.  
There was another presence looming over the Mandalore, now impossible to miss. It was dark and terrifying, freezing Obi-Wan to the bone just by existing.

Licking his lips, Obi-Wan concentrated. He needed to remain hidden. While Maul - and the child, the child who was obviously strong in the Force, but appeared to be Force null - seemed to hide effortlessly, Obi-Wan needed to pay careful attention.

It felt unnatural, like he was freezing in place something that was supposed to move. It also gave him thousands of different feeling, all of them dangerous. Bending the Force instead of following its will, even by just finding Obi-Wan could feel terrifying power at the tips of his fingers.

He concentrated on observing Maul instead.

The Zabrak was slowly walking on the podium where the throne stood, his lightsaber already in his hand.

It was an oddly shaped weapon. Like the giant saberstaff Obi-Wan remembered all too well from Naboo the hilt was much larger than in any usual blade. This one had one side ending with a sharp, bend edge, almost like there was supposed to be a round cross-guard, but it was somehow broken off.

The rest of it - it looked oddly familiar, though Obi-Wan couldn't name the reason. For a new weapon, it was quite battered, with deep scars cross-dressing the surface of the metal, that supposedly could withstand even the blade of a lightsaber.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. There will be time for questions. Now his attention should belong elsewhere.

The palace seemed to be unreal, like something more out of a dream rather than the place Obi-Wan was familiar with. deserted and quiet, it appeared to be much bigger, much more empty than it really was. Every noise, even the smallest ones, were impossible to miss, because of other echo thundering under the high ceilings, repeating everything over and over again.

It was hard to not feel uneasy; even within the Force Obi-Wan couldn't find peace.

Something was coming, something unimaginably evil, something so consumed by the dark side it wasn't human anymore.

To think that managed to hide itself from the entire Jedi Order for so many years, that it managed to be invisible up until this very moment…

Obi-Wan bit his lip. Sitting ducks was never among his favorite things to do and hiding in the shadows of the corridor used by the servants didn't feel good at all. He felt exposed, completely visible, he felt like it was a trap for him and not for whatever was coming.

The doors leading to the throne room - the ancient, huge construct made from hard metals, plasteel, doors made by a warrior race and created to withstand battles and explosions - shoot open, hitting the walls on the opposite sides with a thunderous crack, digging deep into the carefully crafted parget and covering the walls with a spider web of cracks, all of it accompanied by a sickening, high-pitched scream of the twisting hinges.

The upper one on the left side broke, leaving the heavy wing to hang on an odd angle.

The dust spilled around like a heavy, thick mist and a man walked in.

He did not look impressive at all. In the humongous entrance he appeared to be small, almost frail and the long, dark robes were unable to hide his thin stature.

And yet, he was radiating with power, each of the steps he made was like a thunderous crack cutting through the air, announcing their doom getting near.

Obi-Wan covered his mouth with a hand, not trusting himself to not make a noise, not when the dark presence of the man felt like it was pushing him to the ground as if it made the gravity of the planet stronger.

How did they managed to miss it?, he thought feverishly. How something like that managed to hide its presence from all of the Jedi so well?

He was sure that Maul was lying now, at least when it came to this Sith hiding in the plain sight, somehow being a part of the Senate. There was no way for the Force to not warn them about a danger like that, there was no way for all ten thousands of them to not notice a thing. Not when the man felt like that.

Maul waited for the other Sith to get near, his face betraying no emotions at all. His body language also appeared to be relaxed, which, Obi-Wan guessed, meant the complete opposite; people who  knew how to read other people usually tended to guard themselves to not show signs of things they didn't want to betray a lot more when they felt endangered.

And danger, there definitely was.

The hooded Sith spoke, but Obi-Wan couldn't recall the conversation.

It wasn't really important anyway.

With one fluid motion, the hooded Sith pulled out two lightsabers and activated them before his hands even were in position. His malice and killing intent spilled in the room, making it hard to breathe.

Obi-Wan closed eyes for a moment, ignored the angry clash of lightsaber blades meeting each other. Instead, he relied on the force to calm him down, to lead him through this obstacle the same way it lead him to discovering the other Sith in the first place.

 

"You have it all in the palm of your hand," Mauls voice reached him, strong and loud. "You have the war play out just like you want it, you turned the Jedi into your pawns, but I am going to take all of it away!"

 

"You should not make the promises you can't keep, my former Apprentice," the Sith replied with a noticeable glee.

 

"I never was your apprentice, wasn't I?" Maul asked. "I was just a distraction for the Jedi."

 

"You were expendable," the Sith Master agreed. "And now is your time to die!"

 

A sudden, nightmarish scream cut through both the air and the Force. Obi-Wan stepped back, staggering, his knees barely able to hold his weight.

The Sith Lord jumped forward like a black tornado, his roar turning into a frightening cackle while the man was still moving, while the Force was twisting and turning around him, as if his mere presence was doing something sinister to it.

Maul moved away just in time to avoid the crimson blade by mere inches. The light reflected in his wide open eyes, the glimpse of it catching Obi-Wans attention.

The Zabrak didn't seem to react to the dark presence, at least not as strong as Obi-Wan did.

Two red blades clashed together with a crack once, then again before Maul whirled away from the enemy, his blade rotating fast and wide, creating a menacing looking protective shield.

 

"It was the same with Dooku, wasn't it? Were you always planning to use him, or it was just the fact that the death of Qui-Gon Jinn pushed him your way?" Maul asked, slowly circling around the other man, his blades still moving warning - or daring maybe? - his opponent.

 

"At least you're not under the impression that you were important anymore," the Sith Master snickered. "Well, well, it looks like you can learn new things after all."

 

He rushed forward with speed Obi-Wan did not thought he would be capable of, red blade cutting through the air and meeting the other with furious clash time after time. Batting away all attempts of an attack from Mauls weapon, he was still smiling, his cackle much more disturbing than anything else Obi-Wan even experienced.

It was as i the Dark Side itself was oozing from him, filling the throne room with its oppressive aura and grasping at his very heart, turning blood into ice.

"While the Jedi were occupied with the goose chase after the mysterious Sith, you were right under their noses. And then you made them bled in your name," Maul jumped away and  continued talking, eyes narrowed in grim determination. "Spinning everything so well that a war against the people who just wanted to left the Republic actually made sense."

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow, listening, trying to memorize everything to compare it with what he knew about how the war with the Separatist took place.

From his perspective, it was all standing on one misunderstanding following another, unfortunate events happening just in the perfectly wrong time, while the banking Clans and the Trade Federation were trying to milk everything they could out of people, making the situation even worse.

Was it all orchestrated?

But how one could even take control over such huge things, such huge resources to make the traders and banks work not only with you, but for you?

 

"It was quite a good plan, I must admit," Maul still spoke, slowly and carefully making a circle around his former master, one step after another. "Handing over the army of clones to the Republic when there was no other choice but to use them. Putting the Jedi in front of the army worked even better."

The Jedi were the peacemakers, they saw no other choice but to go and fight for other people. However the longer the war was going on, the more it looked like it was following the Jedi, never ending but getting worse and worse.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes.

If Maul was telling the truth, then they have walked right into the trap, completely believing that it was the only way, looking down at these few who refused to take a part in this senseless killing.

 

“From peacekeepers to warbringers,” the Sith chuckled. “I’ve given then an army and they not only accepted the gift, but care so much about!”

 

“They don't even have a choice, do they?”

 

“The same as you. They've always belonged to me and will do as I order. Now, accept your fate and perish, my former apprentice.”

 

“I'm no clone and I don't have any orders imprinted in my head,” Maul snarled.

 

He raised his weapon to attack, relying on the wide range of the blade to give him an edge.

The Sith Lord stepped away from the blade seemingly without any effort, mouths twisted in wicked smile, his own blade lazily laying in his hand.

 

“You've always had as much of free will as they did,” the Sith declared with glee.

There was an odd sound in the air, the sound that wasn't supposed to be there and an odd tension, almost tickling at his nerve endings.

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow, trying to recognize the odd feeling, trying to keep his thoughts - about Cody, about his men - at bay, because he needed a clear mind, he needed all the answer he could get and the only way to hear them was to sit down and listen-

A clash of white, sharp light cut his thoughts short. So sudden it was hard to understand what was happening.

It was the Sith.

The electricity shot from his hands, cracking and buzzing, filling the air with the smell of ozone. To was twisting and turning, blinding and cold and utterly terrifying.  
The Sith only laughed as Maul screamed in pain as the web of electric discharged crawled on his skin.

 

"You're going to die now," the Sith said, his voice almost soft, mysteriously loud enough to get over the thunderous discharges shooting out of his fingers. "The miserable dog you are, it's time to finally put you down for good."

 

His words were followed by a flash of light as the lightning became more powerful, mercilessly tangling itself around Maul.

He's going to die, Oi-Wan realized in horror. If this will continue, he's going to die in a horrid, painful way.

Obi-Wan tried to swallow, but his throat was so dry it actually hurt, then slowly but surely reached for his weapon. The Zabrak was a beast, he did terrible things, but no-one deserved a death like that.  
Just before Obi-Wan activated his own lightsaber and left the hiding place, Maul roared and launched himself forward.  
The Sith, taken by surprise stepped back, but it was too late.

Mauls red blade shot to life and cut, tearing through the material of the hood and pulling it down. The damage done was minuscule, just a small burnt on the cheekbone of the man. However his face made Obi-Wan gasp for a whole different reason.

He knew this face, he knew this man!

Maul was not lying after all, the realization came, shortly followed by blood freezing in his veins.

Chancellor Palpatine snarled viciously at Maul and yellow color filled his eyes, blossoming like a stain of oil.

Maul laughed. It sounded partially victorious and partially hysterical and the face of the Chancellor twisted in a grimace of pure rage. His teeth were colored red from the painful looking cut on his upper lip and the blood was slipping down his chin. He didn’t seem to even register it.

Obi-Wan was unable to pry his eyes away while lonely world was ringing in his mind, over and over again, tuning down the sound of the ferocious battle that took place right in front of him.

Anakin, Obi-Wan thought, as his stomach twisted into a painful knot.

This man, this vile beast painted himself as Anakins friend and advisor, turning a listening ear every time the Jedi failed to deliver what the boy expected to hear.

Anakin trusted him, Anakin talked to him, Anakin who was wearing heard on the sleeve of his robe, Anakin who wanted, needed to trust, who desperately searched bonds with people despite being a Jedi.

Anger rose inside of his chest. It burned more than a fire ever would, it filled his mouth with acid and colored his vision red. The air feel cold and metallic when it was sucked through his teeth, filling lungs with odd coolness.  
He felt like his chest was going to crack open and burst. He felt like his eyes were about to burn away. He felt like nothing would even chase away the ringing in his ears or chase away that one single name that counted.

Obi-Wan stood up and activated his lightsaber, not caring about losing the advantage of attacking from hiding. He wanted, needed, to confront this man face to face. He wanted to look into his eyes, he wanted to-

 

"Sheev Palpatine of Naboo, in the name of the Republic, I'm obliged to take you prisoner," words spilled out of his mouth, voice clear and strong and completely unfamiliar at all.

 

"Kenobi?" Palpatine hissed, glancing at him for a short moment, before his yellow gaze returned to Maul. "You have brought Jedi here?"

 

"Anything for you," Maul smiled, shifting to get near Obi-Wan, switching his stance to something that was unfamiliar but seemed to come to him with ease.

 

“You were supposed to be just a witness,” Maul hissed at him with a sharp glance.

 

“And you were expecting me to just stand back and observe you committing suicide?” Obi-Wan barked back at him, eyes not leaving the Sith Lord for even a moment. “No. You’re my enemy, you’ve killed countless of innocent people, but no. All life is sacred.”

His blood sang a completely other song, calling at him to split the man in front of him open, to cut and tear until there’s nothing but a bitter memory.

 

The Chancellor laughed.

 

"You," he said. "Are full of surprises after all. It would be a pleasure to kill you both."

 

The Soresu stance came to Kenobi automatically, without a thought spend on it.

 

"Try your luck, Sith," he said.


	3. The Lightsaber

Chapter 3: The Lightsaber

 

One of the red lightsabers buzzed way too close for comfort, but before Obi-Wan even raised his own weapon to protect himself, it was repelled by another. In that very moment an opening was created for him to slip by the other lightsaber and to make a quick short jab.

It was perfect, but... he hesitated, missing the opportunity by a heartbeat, giving the Sith Lord just enough time to evade.

Maul gave him a sharp glance.

Obi-Wan grit his teeth. He was no youngling to slip like that!  
Yet the darkness, that seemed to be filling the room was fueling his own fears to the brim.  
He had to stay calm, he had to fight and most importantly, he had to trust. It was the most difficult of it all too, because it was Maul.

Maul, who for some strange reason appeared to know exactly how to move around a Soresu user, to work with him instead of against him.  
He was overreaching though, catching with his blade hits that were going to high to get to Obi-Wan in the first place.

At least they both had a room for improvement, he thought humorlessly.

The Sith Lord launched himself at them again, his lightsabers whirling, filling the air with mad, menacing cackle that made the Force itself twist and whirl in desperate tries to get free from this monstrosity.  
He didn't seem to be worn out by a prolonging fighting either, not a single drop of sweat on his brow, while  Obi-Wan was starting to breathe heavily.

Soresu, his style of choice was nicknamed the resistance way and yet it looked more and more like he was not as resilient as he thought he was.  
Next to him, Maul made a hissing sound, partially from anger and partially from pain. Obi-Wan was exhausted, but the  Sith was definitely targeting Maul, forcing him to defend himself from the barrage of attacks and the lightning.

Obviously, the tactic was working; Mauls favored form was truly unfit for situations like this one and his new tricks were not even close to being enough. Not against that kind of n enemy.

With an angry his Maul made a step back and then another one, as his former master was pushing him further and further away. The Force around them was whirling madly as if protesting such brutal treatment, dark and cold to the point Obi-Wan almost expected the frost to start growing on the walls and the floor.

With a furious buzz, his two lightsaber rushed forward only to meet the longer, red blade.  
It was hard to see, as if all that Dark Side of the Force was somehow obscuring the visibility, but Obi-Wan was damn sure that Mauls knees bent slightly under the sheer power of the hit.

Obi-Wan stepped forward, trying his hardest to concentrate despite the strong pull the Dark Side had on his mind, shifting from the purely defensive stance of Soresu into mix of it and one of the more aggressive forms.

Either he was going to give Maul a moment to collect his breath, or they both were going to die. And death, it was unacceptable. Not now, not when he had learned so much, not when the entire galaxy was at stake.  
He blocked the next hit, the impact of it rang through his wrist and crept higher, up to the elbow.

Terror followed shortly after, as soon as his brain tried to make sense just where all that strength was hidden in a such frail looking man - or rather, how much of it was a proof of absolute control over the Force.

 

"You are getting in the way, Jedi!" the Sith hissed furiously at him, while his other lightsaber moved in an attack.

Obi-Wan managed to step away just in time, letting the blade seep into the stone rather than his own flesh.

 

"We were so blind," he said, staring at the familiar but at the same time completely alien face of the Chancellor. "All this time! Even Naboo... The Trade Confederacy occupying Naboo, even that was your doing, wasn't it?"

 

"The Force was with me," the grin that appeared on his face was vile and completely inhuman.

 

"Blasphemy! All these people! For decades!"

 

"You need to learn so much more, General," the last word sounded like the worst sort of insult. "This is the very final step of the plan that took hundreds of years. Sadly, you won't be around for this knowledge to serve you in any way."

Then he pushed some more, stepping forward slow but unstoppable. The lightsaber clashed around him like a thunder, the only thing that stood between him and certain death.

 

"You cannot survive forever," Palpatine hissed at him, the darkness around him whirling, reaching out.

 

It was feeding on the emotions, Obi-Wan realized. All the fear, all the anger, it was drinking it all up like a sponge. He was literally putting fuel to the fire and was unable to stop himself. Despite all the Jedi teachings, despite the hundreds of hours spent on meditation, despite the code he was living by since he could remember, Obi-Wan couldn't stop himself from feeling.

 

"You're weak," the Sith continued, each word accented with merciless hit. "You can't defend yourself from the things you worked so hard on isolating yourself from."

 

"And you are awfully talkative for someone who's going down,"Obi-Wan shot back.

 

Palpatine chuckled.

 

"Oh, General... you still don't understand! Everything you ever believed in, every rule you were living by, I have created it all. I made you and so I can destroy you."

 

Obi-Wan grit his teeth, trying to reclaim is composure. Despite that, his mind was filled with images. Faces of friends, the image of Qui-Gon dying, Bruck falling to his doom and Xanatos and then there were all the younglings, most of them faceless to him, all of them waiting for the same fate and oh how could they not notice that something was wrong?

The guilt was tearing his soul to shreds, the anger was boiling in his veins, his heart wished for nothing but revenge and the Force responded in a kind, dark and cold and unfamiliar.

Readjusting his grip on the lightsaber, Obi-Wan reached out for the Force, letting it fill his muscles with strength and energy.

The rush was like nothing that he had ever experienced.

It felt like the stone tiles on the floor were crumbling under every step he made, it felt like he was holding not a lightsaber but a blade made of pure fire, it felt like he was going to crush anything in his path and he so wanted to do just that.

This time Obi-Wan was the one doing the pushing, moving forward, surrounding his enemy with the whirl of his blade, forcing the Sith into defensive.

It was so satisfying to just lash out, to hit the red blade again and again, each time going further, closer to the cloaked body, closer to getting what he wanted...

Finally, a slash cut through the fabric, burning through it with ease.

 

"Whatever you did, it ends here!" Obi-Wan spoke. "I am going to win and I am going to cut you down for all the people who suffered because of you!"

 

"Such darkness," the Sith chuckled. "It suits you surprisingly well, General. Such a waste, truly, I could've made a better use of you."

 

"You talk too much."

 

"And you have forgotten the most important thing: you might be more powerful when relying on the Dark Side, but I am the Master of it!"

 

As the colors were drained from the world around him, Obi-Wan saw shadows spilling from the corners, slowly gaining shape, staggering closer and closer. Soon, they became more or less humanoid. Some of them were missing limbs, some others were still having them attached, but all broken and battered, with sharp edges of bones sticking out.

obi-Wan looked around, trying to find his enemy, but he was all alone in the rings of shadows, just him and the steadily increasing hum. Which was slowly turning into something entirely else.

Obi-Wan knew these sounds all too well, explosions and shots coming from far, far away, accompanied with moans of wounded and dying.

 

"What is this?" he shouted. "I know this is just a trick! This is not going to save you!"

 

There was no response from the Sith. Just more of the shadows slowly moving towards him, every cadaverous detail more and more visible with each passing second. The noise was also getting louder and louder, to the point he couldn't even hear his own thoughts anymore.

It hurt. The screams were so loud the air appeared to be shaking around him, the noise was biting into his skull like an edge of the knife and his blood vessels were a second away from bursting from all the pressure.

So Obi-Wan screamed in pain too, his voice mixed in and got lost in the avalanche of others.

The torture stopped suddenly. Obi-Wan opened his eyes, to see the bright, blue blade of his own, still ignited in his hands.

 

And then it died.

 

He looked down at the broken pieces of his weapon, words spoken not all that long ago ringing in his ears, as if they were taunting Obi-Wan.

The lightsaber is your life.

It was. And now it was broken into pieces, sparkling and still smoking in his fingers. Slowly, a chunk of metal broke off and fell to the ground. The small sound it made was almost deafening in his ears.

Palpatine laughed victoriously, relishing in the shock and fear Obi-Wan felt.

 

"It is over, General!"

The chain of lightning shot from his fingertips. Obi-Wan ducked to the side, landing heavily on his side and instantly rolled away, while the string of electricity followed him mercilessly.

The world smelled like ozone and something fire, his skin was burning and there was a shot of pain radiating from his elbow all the way up to the tips of his fingers. He had no choice but to keep moving, because stopping meant losing this battle.

 

"Throne!" Maul barked. Then he jumped forward, his blade meeting the discharge in the mid-air.

 

Palpatine grit his teeth and lowered one of his hands, a blade slipping back into his hand, activated almost immediately.

 

"Well, crap" Maul muttered under his breath, still forced to defend himself against the lightning and with little to no way of dealing with anything else.

There was a clash of one lightsaber meeting another, though Obi-Wan wasn't paying attention to the duel. He needed a weapon and at this point anything would be good enough.

Reaching out with his hand, Obi-Wan leaned on the Force. And then he gasped.  
It felt like his fingers touched ice and lightning at the same time, only it wasn't strained with darkness and hatred like the powers of the Sith Lord were.The hilt, now lying in his hand, was merely ages old and indifferent to all that was going on, almost not willing to fight.

Obi-Wan had no time to appreciate the artifact or to try and appease it.  
Calling the blade to life, despite his best tried awed by the light dancing on the edge of pure darkness in his hands. It felt alive and it felt like the blade was measuring him, pulling at the Force and reacting to it.

Blinding clash of lightning coming from behind reminded Obi-Wan that this wasn't the time to admire the extraordinary blade.  
His ally was already worn out when they switched and their opponent seemed like he had unlimited amounts of energy.

 

"Let's argue later," Obi-Wan murmured to the blade and turned on his heel, to once again join the fight.

 

As he turned away, he could see Maul faking a slash with his blade, forcing Palpatine to step to the side. Maul kicked, using the advantage of his heavy, metal legs, successfully locking the other Sith in place.

Palpatine could either get cut down by the blade or being pushed onto it by a powerful kick.

A grin twisted his face and, in an one fluid motion, he moved his hands forward in a pushing motion instead. The Force accompanied him.

The power behind the hit was enough to push Maul all the way down the stairs. He hit the marble floor with pained, breathless grunt.

Immediately, he tried to push himself up, but his shaky hands were slipping on the stone.

Obi-Wan could hear him clearly, because the entire place suddenly drowned in eerie silence. Every breath, all the little rocks and chunks of glass shifted on the floor, he could hear it all, echoing through the empty, riddled with scars throne room.

With a curse on his mouth, Obi-Wan pushed himself up. The world whirled around him, while the white flash of pain cut through his temples.

Meanwhile, steps bounced with a powerful echo, as the Sith Lord slowly, almost lazily walked down.

 

"This, is how you are going to die," he spoke, his voice almost dripping with glee. "Miserable and beaten, once again on your knees."

 

Maul growled in response. Somehow, finding strength to leap forward, towards where his lightsaber was.

Only for it to slip away from his fingers and roll away.

 

"You never learn, do you?" Chancellor Palpatine chucked. "Well, it's not like it actually matters now. You're going to die."

 

The lightning was already cracking on the tips of his fingers and Obi-Wan realized with horror that no matter what, he won't be able to get down there in time.  
He had to try anyway.

It was not supposed to end this way, not after all these revelations. They needed to get out of here and deliver the information to the Jedi Council and everyone else, not die here.

His knees felt like they turned into cotton and Obi-Wan almost tripped when he got to make the first step down the stairs. He didn't care. With each movement, he was getting closer, with each movement his muscles were getting back to how they were supposed to act.  
His ears started ringing though.

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow, because it didn't sound exactly right; he was hit in the head and blasted unconscious enough times to know the uncomfortable, high-pitched noise by heart.  
This was different, much lower, getting stronger with every passing second and sounding more and more like-

The Sith Lord was several meters away from Maul and raised his hands for the finishing blow.  
Then the high, elegant windows made from carefully crafted colored glass exploded along with chunks of wall.

Chancellor was forced to stop and to cover himself from the rain of sharp pieces of glass and stone that was tossed at him by the powerful wind.

Obi-Wan risked peeking above his own sleeve, his eyes immediately tearing up from all the dust that once again rose from the floor.  
Still, he could clearly see a shape of wing of spaceship that crashed into the glass and the boy who jumped onto it out of the cockpit.

 

"Maul!" Jabba shouted. "Catch!"

 

An item was tossed down. The shape was odd, but nonetheless, Obi-Wan instantly recognized it as a lightsaber.

So did the Chancellor.

 

"A lightsaber did not help you before and will not help you now," Palpatine leered and shook his sleeves. Chunks of glass shone as they fell down. "You're welcome to try, though."

He was so very close to Maul now, obviously baiting the Zabrak to try and attack him, enjoying crushing his desperate tries to save himself.

 

"Sure," Maul said. And then he shot Palpatine.

 

Obi-Wan needed a moment just to grasp what had happened right in front of his eyes, stopped dead in the middle of the stairs and unable to do anything else.

The Sith was also taken by a complete surprise, dropping on his knees and the blaster bolt connected with him. However he was already pushing himself up, beating the paralyzing effects in no time.

Maul shot Palpatine a few times more for a good measure.

 

"What are you doing?!" Jabba shouted. "He's not going to be down forever! Get to the ship!"

 

Obi-Wan blinked and then nodded. Get out, right, that definitely needed to be done.

He hurried down to Maul.

 

"Can you move?"

 

"Do I look like it?" the Zabrak hissed at him.

 

"I take it as a no," Obi-Wan mumbled and pulled Mauls arm over his shoulder.  "Come on!"

It seemed that the last desperate act of defense took all the strength that he had left.

Obi-Wan retrieved the weapon and it was indeed a lightsaber that also served as a blaster. It was crude, looked like it was put together with random junk and beaten into shape, heavier than an usual blade. At least it lied in hand pretty comfortably.

Palpatine was already getting up again. Practically dragging Maul along, Obi-Wan was shooting blind behind himself, hoping that at least one of the shots would connect with the target.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look, an entire chapter of our heroes getting their asses whooped. Oups.  
> I just couldn't kill my mail villain before destroying everything he ever cared for, right? :P
> 
> Seriously though, Obi-Wan didn't know what he was walking into and the newfound anger issues were not helping at all. Don't use the Dark Side of the Force on a dude who spend decades on mastering it, I guess.  
> (And there's a ton of other issues stuffed up there, you can go on hunt if you want to, I'm curious if anyone is gonna catch 'em all. )
> 
> You guys can say whatever you want, I love Ezra's first lightsaber and it is not going anywhere anytime soon. 
> 
> In the next chapter: an actual exchange of information between the characters


	4. The Daring Escape

Chapter 4: “The Daring Escape”

  


The moment they ran on the ramp - or more like awkwardly stumbled onto it - the ship shot forward, accompanied by the loud buzz of alarm sirens, protesting against the flight with hangar bay wide open.

Obi-Wan scrambled onto his feet and reached out, pushing the button for automatic sit-down. Before the metal edges of the doors meet, he could see the Sith, walking through the dust like nothing had happened, with both of his red blades ignited.

“We need to-!”

“I know!’ Jabba shouted back. “Is Maul -?”

“Here! “ Obi-Wan confirmed quickly. “But he’s is onto us!”

As if to serve as a proof to his words, the ship shook, already caught in the Force grasp, the engines desperately trying to push the machine forward. Obi-Wan could swear they were hanging in the mid air instead. The terror rose in his throat. Was this all for nothing? Was it the will of the Force for them to perish now, here, without warning the Republic about the danger hidden within?

“Grab onto something!” Jabba ordered.

“What are you planning to do?”

“Art!”

Obi-Wan had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but he made it back to Maul. The Sith - the former one - was still out of it, completely defenseless not only against the enemy, but also the forces of gravity.

Right on time.

Suddenly an explosion tore the ground behind them with deafening power, the monstrous ?? Wave throwing the now free vessel forward.

It shook, it rocked, it whirled, tossing Obi-Wan around the hangar link a rag doll. All he could do was to try and hold steady, desperately holding onto whatever he managed to grab before it all begun and trying to make sure that Mauls unconscious body wouldn't escape his grasp.

The alarm was still going on, when the shaking ceased, the emergency lights blinking rapidly cast shadows onto the chaotic mess of equipment spilled around them. Something was cracking up with electricity, something else was filling the air with acidic smoke.

“What in the world was that?!” Obi-Wan demanded, while trying to untangle himself from Darth Maul. His horns somehow managed to sneak in between the plates of the armor and were poking him places and the only good thing about the whole thing was the fact Maul was still out of it.

“Uh, an after wave?”

“An after wave? After what exactly?”

“I planted explosives around the place.”

“You blew up the Mandalorian palace?!”

“...yes?” Jabba looked at him like Obi-Wan was the crazy one. “And it was a good idea, because I could drop several tons of ceiling on that guy.”

“Something less destructive would surely…”

“Meh,” Jabba wrinkled his nose. “No kill like an overkill. Besides, I tried to do that once before with two walkers? The guy shrugged it off like it was nothing.”

“What sort of world are you living in?”

“Not so different from this one,” Jabba declared. “We’re getting out of hyperspace in a minute if you're not holding onto something.”

“Now?” Obi-Wan gasped. “That’s way too soon!”

“The jump was a scam, we’re on the orbit of the Concord Dawn,” Jabba explained quickly. “Next jump is going to be much longer.”

Obi-Wan acknowledged the decision; he could hardly do anything else.

 

xxx

 

After the autopilot took over in taking them to their next destination - which was simply “far away from here” - they could finally catch a breath.

Obi-Wan was no stranger to fighting; he was a General after all and he took his fair share of battles on the front lines, but this was entirely new kind of exhaustion for him. He was cold and shaky and all he wanted was to bang his hands and head against the nearest wall till they bled, just to get out the fresh memories. Everything he learned was still ringing in his ears and he so wanted to just ignore it all and pretend that this day never happened.

He couldn’t, obviously. There was a responsibility, heavily resting on his shoulders, there was the Right Thing to be done and so much more!

Truly, the universe did not offer him anything but the necessity to put on his Negotiator mask once again and act like a Jedi was supposed to. Playing the role was easier, even if he learned not that long ago that it was all a lie.

"Is he...okay?" Jabba asked, awkwardly gesturing towards Maul. He appeared to not be sure if he could leave the cockpit or not. He clearly wanted to, one of his feet already making the step forward, hand on the doorframe, eyes locked on Maul.

"He's unconscious," Obi-Wan said, then actually looked at the Sith for the first time since he first meet him in the throne room. Any distraction would be good and he was ashamed to admit, but for a very short moment he completely forgot that he wasn’t alone on the vessel.

There was no visible bleeding or wide wounds, which was a good thing. The burnt marks were hard to spot on his dark skin, but there were places where the black tattoos weren't looking quite right. Muscle spasms were probably the most worrisome; it was hard to estimate how much damage the Force Lighting has done.

"Well, he clearly had worse," Obi-Wan said slowly, then winced. Diplomatically, it sounded not. More like he was mocking the Sith and that was not the plan at all.

The kid already looked like he wanted to kick him, brow all furrowed, eyes glaring.

"However I do believe that he floor is not a place to rest," he continued, hoping it was the end for putting his foot inside his mouth, at least for the day.

"Oh!" Jabba blinked. "Right, you're right. I should've got bigger ship, but it's Mandalorian and they like to use their space reasonable and to have some sort of medbay on hand all the time, so..."

He looked around, then his face visibly brightened up.

"I knew I nabbed the right model!"

After pushing one of the many unremarkable buttons on the wall, a side of one of the inner walls shifted and then lowered

"A very narrow, probably very hard sort-of-a-bed, but still better than the co-pilot seat, I'm not sure it can even go horizontal."

Obi-Wan nodded.

Maybe he was wiped out after the battle, or maybe it was all that running and the armor weighing him, but he needed the kid to help him pull Maul up to lie him down on the cot. The artificial joints hidden under the black trousers felt weird under his fingers. There was that irrational, overblown fear of metal parts biting into his fingers like a pair of pincers. He wondered if Anakin felt like that about his hand, sometimes.

"You're quite familiar with Mandalorian ships," he said, forcing himself to concentrate on here and now.

"They all are pack-rats and they are expecting to get shot at," Jabba explained with a small shrug.

"Pack-rats?" Obi-Wan repeated with a baffled expression.

"Well, the one I know really well is probably the most Mando of them all and she can hide, stuff really, really well and you can't even tell how much explosives she had on her."

"The Mandalorian I know were peaceful people," Obi-Wan said with a furrow of his brow. "They are pacifists."

"Pretty well armed for pacifist," Jabba pointed out, then looked him up and down. "Pretty armor for pacifists too."

"The people with the armor, they were... they were not like other Mandalorians," Obi-Wan decided to explain, suddenly reminded about the armor he stole to try infiltrate Mandalore without making too much of a ruckus. It was disturbingly close to his own one, or at least it felt that way. "They are the Death Watch. They took over Mandalore, overthrowing the rightful ruler. Darth Maul helped them, he orchestrated the whole thing, he-"

Obi-Wan shook his head. It appeared that the whole take-over from the shadows was just another plot. All that destruction, all those lives that were lost during the chaos that took over once peaceful Mandalore, it was all to lure out the Sith Lord.

That... that had to be worth it, even if only a part of what Darth Maul was talking about during the fight was true.

Obi-Wan ran fingers through his hair. To tell the truth, he felt revulsed just thinking about how he was used to prolong the war that was eating and tearing the galaxy apart.

"I don't know much about that," Jabba admitted. "When he's going to wake up?"

"It's hard to guess," Obi-Wan shook his head. "I don't have much experience with that sort of electricity and definitely not when it was applied to someone with his, well..."

"Yeah, that sure does complicate things," Jabba nodded. Then looked back at Obi-Wan. "But he is going to wake up, right?"

"Oh, he's way too stubborn for that," Obi-Wan reassured the teen. "Where are we going?"

"Doesn't matter now, we are going to make several jumps, anyway. Don't know about you, but I sure don't want for that guy to find me any time soon."

"I find it both remarkable and worrisome that you know how to evade a pursuit by switching between hyperspace lanes."

It wasn't that hard to figure out, but he was talking with a kid. Kids were not supposed to fight in a war, to be forced to run and hide. There were the Jedi and the Clone army to shield them from that.

The same Army that was created as a part of a plan to break the Galaxy apart and the Jedi order along with it...

The faces of the clones under his command, the people under his command flashed before his eyes. Were they really just another tool for the Sith? Were they going to be used as a weapon even more that they already were, the last bit of their free will torn away from them without the slightest notice?

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Obi-Wan hoped that the whole thing was just a lie. Or, at least, for the warning to reach them before the Sith did.

"Are you okay?" Jabba noticed his distress.

"I'm fine," Obi-Wan tried to smile, but his own face failed him. "I'm just... there is a lot to take in and even more to think about."

"There sure is," Jabba nodded. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, a whole lot of people is as distressed about the whole thing as you are."

"How do you...?"

"Um, I'm pretty good at the connecting thing?" Jabba more asked than said.

Right, Obi-Wan remembered. Sworn enemies going together on a vacation trip to Naboo. And so much more. Where Maul managed to dig up that kid from was a mystery; the accent pointed at the Outer Rim, which would explain why Jedi missed him in the first place…  
Though the boy also appeared to be quite kind spirited, making him the oddest companion for the Zabrak Obi-Wan could possibly imagine.

"The Force is strong with you," he said slowly, fishing for at least a hint, while his eyes darted towards Maul. "Is he yours...?"

"Friend, he is a friend," Jabba smiled.

"But you have a lightsaber. Only trained..."

"My master is a Jedi," the teen said with a roll of his eyes, sounding like he was humoring him.

Somehow this information meet with another one inside of Obi-Wans brain, or maybe it was just overloaded with things, because the thing that went out of his mouth was:

"He let you turn your lightsaber into a blaster."

Bastardizing a blade like that was like a sin in his eyes. Lightsabers were supposed to be a symbol of many things and merging it with a common weapon like that… at the same time, it was exactly what saved their lives.

"Well, no-one is ever expecting that, that's really helpful when people are chasing me."

"If you're a Jedi, then no one should be chasing after you, not in the Republic space!" Obi-Wan immediately protested.

"Maybe in the Galaxy you know, Kenobi,"

"You're okay!" Jabba jumped off his seat with a happy expression on his face, showing absolutely no fear.

Obi-Wan felt a mild wave of terror, because there was this child, that was putting himself right next to Darth Maul, who was reaching out and putting his hands on Mauls shoulder like it was the most normal thing in the world, while in Obi-Wans mind all the horrid things the Sith had done replayed over and over again, almost tuning the reality out.

"You are, right?"

"I could be better," Darth Maul didn't kill the kid and didn't smack him away or pushed  him into the wall. He just sat there on the narrow cot, patiently waiting for the boy to be done. "I also think I could use some tools, because my joints are definitely off. However it is still qualified under what you tend to call 'fine'."

"That's good, really good!" The Jabba grinned, then his expression changed. "So, can we now go over how fucking stupid you were?!"

Darth Maul rolled the eyes, ignoring both raised voice and the fist hitting him in the chest.

"Language," he merely said.

"Don't language me now!" Jabba furiously spat out. "What even was that? A glorified suicide? Since when were you a part of the idiot club?"

"That was necessary," Maul said. Then he smirked. "Or did you suddenly decided that you're just fine with the Empire reigning over the galaxy?"

"How can you... you just... you!" Jabba waved his hands in frustration, his voice reaching the high-pitched heights all human teenagers were trying to avoid with all their might. "You're such an ass! There are other ways to leak out the information!"

"Nothing else would made enough people believe to make an actual difference," Maul stated, still uncharacteristically calm.

Obi-Wan wasn't sure what was more surreal. The Sith not setting the fire with the blaze of his fury, or the conversation that was going on. In any different circumstances, this bander would be simply amusing. However the situation was how it was and the exchange of words only added another questions to his already ridiculously long list.

Starting with the Empire. There was no Empire, definitely not one ruling over the entire galaxy. And the thing Maul said, right when he showed up. The Galaxy he was familiar with, which highly suggested that there was some other Galaxy - what a prosperous though! - unknown and dark...

"May I ask just what is going on?"

"Oh, right, Kenobi," Maul snickered, turning towards him, yellow eyes shining with their unnatural right. "You were always quite bad with picking up all the clues. We are from the future."

If it was Vos or Kit Fisto or even Ahsoka, he would take it as a joke. Heck, if anybody else decided to say something like that Obi-Wan would take it as a joke. But Maul was the one speaking and Obi-Wan was sure that he wouldn’t be joking like that. Not with him, not battered and bruised and Force knows what else.

"The future?" Obi-Wan shook his head. "Are you... are you mocking me?"

"Partially," Maul admitted, the edge of his mouth slightly moving upwards. "You might not believe, Kenobi, that is your choice to stay ignorant. "

"The future," Obi-Wan repeated.

"Yup," Jabba nodded. "Sounds cheesy like one of the really bad holo-dramas, but that's the truth. The future. We were there, but then we happened to not be there and since it wasn't all that nice... though I still think the plan sucked!"

"I..." Obi-Wan started, but the words died in his mouths.

All the clues were right there for him to see. A child, who should be a padawan and who was wandering around with a Sith Lord instead, a child who needed his lightsaber to pose as a mere blaster for the sake of safety, who was not straying away from robbery and tricks. Maul himself, looking slightly different, leaner, wielding a lightsaber that once again had two blades.

"How is that possible?" he finally managed to form a question. "Shouldn't it be dangerous to meddle with your own past?"

"Well, I wasn't born yet," Jabba said with a shrug. "As for meeting your past self bringing out the apocalypse or whatever? Well, didn't happen."

"Apparently travelling back in time either create a separate timeline or the time itself is not as linear as it thought to be," Maul added. "Otherwise I would remember this day."

"I would," Jabba chuckled. "Knocked over by myself and locked in a closet... wait, did we get the other you out?"

"Huh," Maul raised his eyebrows. "I knew we forget about something. No matter now."

"Hey, we're talking about you here!" Jabba protested. "Well, the other you, anyhow, you can't just shrug that off!"

"I am going to shrug it off, because we're talking about me."

"I dropped a palace on top of that closet!"

"He's going to be fine," Maul rolled his eyes. "And he's not even in the beginning of the list you should be actually worrying about right now."

"That guy... he would also walk that one off, wouldn't he?"

"I'm afraid so," Maul grimaced. "As much as I would like to see him dead... it appears I still can't."

"But we did it, right? We defeated him, we told the galaxy...!"

"That's naive and you know it," Maul cut him out. "It would take months for the file to reach all the parts of the galaxy. By then, there would be already countermeasures put in place."

"Are you saying... that he took over the galaxy? Just like that?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Exactly, I'm glad you finally managed to understand the gravity of the situation, Kenobi."

"But... why? Where were the Jedi?"

"The Jedi," Maul said slowly. "Died. Almost all of them, either shot down by their own men, or cut down by Darth Vader and the Inquisitors of his."

"No," Obi-Wan stepped away, slowly shaking his head. "That's impossible. Not all of them, I refuse to believe that!"

"Do I have any reason to lie, Kenobi?" Maul raised an eyebrow. "While hurting you is definitely a pleasurable activity, we share an enemy, one I hate much more than I despite you."

"But you... you told me that your master was a...!"

"He was in hiding," Jabba slowly admitted. "We only meet by chance. And he got interested in me only because I robbed him."

Obi-Wan dropped on the seat, overwhelmed by the weight of the information. This shouldn’t be even possible. There was no way for the Jedi, for all of the Jedi to perish all at once in but a few years, there was no way to timetravel either… but meeting your own Jedi Master by robbing him - managing to rob him successfully - was so ridiculous it just had to be true.

Besides, there were dozens of other little details pointing to that it was the truth.

Maul slowly circled him with a visible limp and then gracelessly dropped into the co-pilot seat.

The cut on his lip was slightly bleeding again, though the blood was only noticeable on his skin only because it had an oily shine to it.

He wasn't shaking anymore, though it could be because of the odd stiffness of his body, as he reached out to the nav-computer and scrolled through the ship status. Obi-Wan wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose or it was the result of being beaten up just a few moments ago.

"I must agree with the boy," Obi-Wan said finally, deciding to prioritize the most important things for now. "What sort of a plan was that?"

"One where you were supposed to stay hidden, for the starters. Clearly, it did not work."

"You would have died," Obi-Wan protested. "Death rarely solve anything, even if you have a witness to tell the story-"

"A witness and a well documented camera footage," Maul grinned at him.

"What."

"How do you think I kept finding you and the other Jedi all these years ago?" Maul asked with a snicker.

"Cameras?"

"Small, flying droids, like, meiloorun fruit size?" Jabba added helpfully. "Though Sabine, Hera and some other people helped in making them even smaller, so they're like... mandalorian flash-grenade size?"

"That sounds more reasonable than just relying on me living to tell the story," Obi-Wan nodded.

"And I'm very glad, because apparently you are unable to do as you are told."

"The footage of me being there serves as a much better proof than just me telling people that I was there," Obi-Wan argumented back. "Though how exactly are you going to extract the data from Mandalore?"

Maul rolled his eyes.

"The Dark Eyes were programmed to detect an energy output characteristic for a spaceship. Once there, they would hibernate up until registering exiting the hyperspace. Then. they will send the data out."

"Which makes me blowing up the palace a good thing," Jabba added happily. He surprisingly quickly got over the fact that he dropped several tons of stone of the past version of his… friend. "Panic would make people to run away as quick as possible."

Than meant the entire galaxy was going to watch him waving around the Dark Saber, Obi-Wan thought, the foreign weight on his hip suddenly much more uncomfortable. That was going to be a mess of its own.

"The angles of the footage are going to be quite different, considering the placement of the Dark Eyes which would serve as another proof," Maul continued. "Though I'm not sure how fast the information is going to spread. With any luck, it would reach Coruscant before he does."

Which was both a good and a very bad thing.

There were many words exchanged during the fight and some of them were about how corrupted the Jedi order truly was, how easily manipulated they were and that sort of an information would definitely cause an... unrest among the people.

Obi-Wan wasn't sure how the Jedi would react either.

And that wasn't the only thing they were going to not like, he thought, looking down on his hands.

He himself didn't know what ever he was thinking back then.

"What now?" he asked, feeling very, very tired.

"We have about ten hours in the hyperspace," Jabba said. "So you guys can slap on some bacta and rest?"

Obi-Wan nodded.

"That sounds like a plan."

"I'm fine," Maul barked almost at the same moment.

"And that," Obi-Wan said, with one eyebrow raised in a bafflement. "Is the most ridiculous lie I've ever heard."

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very quick update, considering my usual timing, but I was very excited for this chapter.  
> Also got a bit more time to actually edit it, since I landed myself in a hospital.


	5. A Sith And A Jedi Walked Into A Hangar Bay...

**Chapter 5**

**A Sith And A Jedi Walked Into A Hangar Bay...**

 

The most reasonable thing to do while in hyperspace was to simply rest.  There was no access to the HoloNet while making the jump and whoever was the previous owner of this vessel, had an unhealthy fascination with a very mediocre soap opera.  
Of course, like with all reasonable things, it was the hardest thing to actually do.

Jabba was deleting a few episodes of the awful show at a time in between making calculations for another set of jumps and then deleting that too, just to start the whole thing again, with another set of coordinates.

Meanwhile, Maul was occupied with trying to repair whatever was damaged in his legs. Flesh wounds, he ignored up until the point Jabba was fed up with his behavior and simply tossed a handful of Bacta-patches at him.  
Obi-Wan was pretty sure that the boy was aiming at his horns.  
Maul merely gave him a mildly amused glance as the packets hit his shoulder. Jabba glared back with annoyed expression on his face and hands crossed on his chest, clearly not going anywhere any time soon.  

Maul slapped a few of the patches on with a roll of his eyes and continued to work.

As far as Obi-Wan was able to tell, it was mostly improvising, since while the ship was well equipped when it came to food and medical supplies, anything mechanical that was not destined to repair the ship was rather sparse.  
Obi-Wan was restless and there was nothing to  keep his mind away from the things he learned about the Sith, the Jedi or himself. He wasn't even sure which one disturbed him more.  
The fact that he was not only hopelessly attached to Anakin, but that attachment was what pushed him right into the darkness? The fact that he still remembered how the Dark Side felt, circling through his veins and enforcing the body?  
If it always was like that, then no wonder that-

"Kenobi, you can either start talking or walk away, because this staring of yours is getting annoying."

Obi-Wan jumped, startled by the voice he did not expect to hear. Was he really staring? He was so deep in thought it was hard to tell.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just- This is all very difficult to stomach."

"What is?" Maul smirked at him. "The great plan of the Sith, Chancellor Palpatine being a Sith or you using the Dark Side?"

Obi-Wan grimaced. The Zabrak maybe wasn't trying to kill him, but his words cut deeper than his lightsaber.  
He closed his eyes and tried to prioritize everything, putting his own emotions aside.  
It was not working. Years of training, of gaining experience and yet here he was, unable to get rid of guilt and terror and all these other things, because no matter how hard he tried, everything was worming its way back into his mind.

"I can understand that Palpatine somehow managed to hide his true nature," he finally said. "Especially considering how powerful he was. However I can't grasp just how he managed to worm his way all the way to the Chancellor seat. The whole situation on Naboo... was it just luck?"

"Not luck," Maul snickered. "Hugo Damask was his master. He had the Banking Clans under control."

"You must... you cannot be serious!"

"I am."

"But the Sith... shouldn't there be only two?" Obi-Wan shook his head. "It doesn't make sense!"

Master Yoda said so, all these years ago and Obi-Wan could recall those words clearly as if it happened only a few minutes ago.  
There was no need to lie to him, not even to keep his morale up - he was already all to aware that the ancient enemy has returned, changed and so powerful.

"This is more complicated than it sounds," Maul said, putting away the tool he was using and reaching for a knife. Carefully, he cut through the isolation on a cable and dug out a broken wire out of it. "While there's only one Master and only one Apprentice, there's a place for... another candidates for the Apprentice role."

He found the other end of the wire near his knee and cut out the part that was visibly damaged.

"I've myself faced more than one other so called Apprentices, just to prove that I was good enough. Or to provide entertainment, sometimes it was hard to tell."

Obi-Wan winced.  
It sounded just... plain bad, especially in the disinterested tone of a voice Maul was using to tell the story. Also because he somewhat could relate. While his situation wasn't even close to being as horrible as it was for maul, he still found himself abandoned for another, more interesting boy in a heartbeat.  
He loved Anakin and he loved Qui-Gon too, but this wound would be forever raw and painful.

"The Apprentice is expected to kill the Master at some point, or at least to try to do so," Maul continued. "However, because of that, some of the Apprentices did keep their own students."

"Were you like that?" Obi-Wan asked. "i mean, Damask disappeared suddenly and without a trace..."

"He died right before you crippled me," Maul said, his voice oddly soft. "I thought he was dead much longer than that."

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow, the obvious thought coming to his mind uninvited.

"Do you think that if he didn't die-"

"Kenobi," Maul groaned. "Over the years I've went through all the possible scenarios. It didn't change a thing. It still doesn't. Until you don't drop it, then I would consider stabbing you in the face."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly, quite surprised by the outburst. Or rather how it wasn't one; he expected Maul to jump forwards and punch, tear with his claws, do something.  
Now, if the time travel story was real - and it definitely was real because all these differences and the knowledge and everything - then this Maul had almost two decades more to think about things and deal with them and maybe, just maybe he finally did.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes.  
The Jedi were sure that Maul was the Apprentice. It sounded like Maul thought the same just up until the moment he felt Hugo Damask dying and discovered the lie.  
However, he was right. If the Sith had the Banking Clans under control, they pretty much did the same with the Trade Confederacy. That would make the whole attack on Naboo more than just easy. Catapulting Palpatine to the position of real power over the all bloody Republic was also so ridiculously easy...

"On the other hand," Maul carefully wrapped a piece of wire along the broken chunks of the damaged one. "You and the use of the Dark Side. Such an interesting thing, truly."

"Are you mocking me?"

"Partially," Maul shrugged. "Considering the fact that you are the shining paragon of a Jedi in the eyes of almost everyone... the irony is very amusing."

He bit off a chunk of the duct tape and wrapped it around the wires.

"...are you supposed to do that?" Obi-Wan asked, not even sure if he was talking about using the most common tape to insulate things that looked important or it was about using teeth when there were at least three different tools destined to cut things right next to Maul.

Anakin would probably start screeching about it; he was surprisingly stern about using just the right tools for the job. Everything had it's place and purpose, everything was treated like it was made of thinnest glass and everything was seemingly priceless.  
Maul wasn't exactly on the opposite end of the spectrum, but he was fairly close.

"No, but I want to actually walk before I get my hand on a welder that's not going to burn through my whole leg."

"Oh. Alright then."

There was a moment of silence. Maul was putting back the items he didn't need in the toolbox, making sure that everything was in order.  
Obi-Wan followed the movement of his hands, making a mental note that for a Zabrak, Maul was keeping his nails very short.

"The entire Jedi Order is going to see that I'm not good enough," Obi-Wan admitted with a sight. "I was always criticizing Anakin for being too attached, but it is me who's failing because of that."

Maul snorted.

"What?" Obi-Wan barked. "What do you find so funny?"

"How do you know that attachment is a bad thing?" Maul asked, still chuckling. "I mean, you have just learned that the Jedi Order was manipulated into what it is now by the Sith and for centuries. How do you tell apart truth and lies?"

"The fact that I not only was tempted but actually used the Dark Side is a proof good enough," Obi-Wan lowered his head and looked down, on the metal floor.

"You Jedi..." Maul shook his head. "You are trying so hard to stay away from everything that you don't even need the Sith to destroy yourselves."

"And what this are supposed to mean?"

"If you don't let yourself feel angry, then of course you will go straight to the Dark Side when shit hit the fan," Maul said coldly. "You don't know how to react, because your only response is to ignore what you are feeling."

"Isn't the one of the differences between Jedi and the Sith?" Obi-Wan quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Maul shrugged. "Is it? Is it not? All I know, that this makes you Jedi go further and further away from the people that are not one of you."

"So the personal opinion would not influence our judgement."

"So it made you that much harder for others to relate to. they don't understand the Jedi," Maul continued, smile slowly spreading on his lips. "They fear, what they do not understand. You can guess the rest, can you?"

"Fear leads to anger," Obi-Wan echoed the words of Grandmaster Yoda. "Anger leads to hate."

"Where the war appeared, there were the Jedi, leading an army," Maul said. "Do you really think this is what the Jedi were supposed to be?"

Obi-Wan looked up at the Zabrak. The tone of his voice didn't suggest that he was mocking him and surprisingly enough, his face did not betray a malevolent intent either. He looked more like he was just plain tired, quite like Obi-Wan felt himself.  
Which made the whole thing even more odd.

"...are you trying to make me feel better?"

Maul wrinkled his nose.

"I need you functional, Kenobi, not being occupied by yours oh so great misery of accidentally poking at what most of the teenage kids have much more experiences with."

"Alright," Obi-Wan exhaled deeply, trying to calm his mind. "I'll... I'll try. What is your plan then?"

"That's the thing we should start with."

"You must jest!"

"No," Maul said in a deadpan voice. "This is as far as I've planned. "

Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose with a painful groan. He didn't know what he was expecting of the Sith, but this… this merry improvisation definitely was not it. And yet, here Maul was, as lost as Obi-Wan felt to be.  
Then, there was this other thing too, this disturbing and bitter and filled with questions.

"So,  have you planned on dying?"

"No," Maul grimaced. "At least not exactly. I used my chance to destroy the great Sith plan and this was the only way that had any chances of succeeding."

"A chance?" Obi-Wan caught the word. "Does  that mean that the time travel was accidental?"

"Of course it was accidental!" Maul groaned. "Nobody knew it would happen up until the moment it did."

There... definitely was a story behind that too. A huge one, explaining why exactly a Sith was willingly spending time with a Jedi apprentice and probably with a Jedi himself.   
This was not a time for stories and Obi-Wan knew it well enough. while the jump in the hyperspace seemed to be lasting forever, he knew that the Galaxy was living its life; the moment they exit the hyperspace they should have at least an idea what could be awaiting them and how to deal with it.

"The Sith plan... what was it?"

"To annihilate all the Jedi?" Maul snickered. "You have heard enough, I think. The Clone Army can be turned against you at any moment. I'm quite curious how long it would take Sidious to make that decision, after reaching Coruscant."

Obi-Wan hid his face in the palm of his hands.

"All these people..."

"The time is actually on our side," Maul continued coldly. "It would take Sidious quite a while to return to Coruscant, so he's going to be in the dark for at least a few days. Meanwhile, the shortest jump out of the Mandalorian space takes about an hour."

"So, the footage is already spreading?"

"Yes," Maul nodded, mouth twisting in a vicious smile. "And after reaching a planet with decent technological advancement it could be broadcasted even further."

"Only we don't know where Mandalorians are going to jump and how many of them will decide to leave the planet."

"Not only Mandalorians," Maul shook his head, still grinning. "Before our arrival, all the air travel was heavily guarded and jumping into hyperspace was out of question."

"I do remember having some... trouble with landing," Obi-Wan nodded.  

"Well, I should thank you for reminding me to recall that order," Maul replied smugly.

Obi-Wan licked his lips, understanding the situation much better now. If no-one could leave Mandalore because Maul was keeping the place under lock and key, then all the merchants, crew of transport vessels, travelers and everyone with luck bad enough were literally imprisoned on the planet that was fuming with a revolution and a revolt both happening at the same time.  
The moment anyone would notice that there's a chance to escape - everyone would dash into the hyperspace without even making sure they were having enough supplies.

He sighed. Mandalore had a long and bloody history of war and Satine was working so hard to change things, to make it better.   
She succeeded and now everything burned to ashes anyway, serving as a sacrificial lamb. It was used to lure out the Sith hidden in the middle of the Galactic Republic - which Mandalore wasn't even a part of.  
With how the things looked like, Obi-Wan could have been the person who doomed it himself. He probably was, considering how Maul was obsessed with him, once.  
Now, however...

"How this happened the last time?" He asked, partially because he was morbidly curious and partially because it felt like something important was hidden in that alternate time.

"Satine, was there, wasn't she?"

"We fought," Maul replied with a small shrug, voice indifferent. "I've killed the Duchess. Then Sidious killed my brother. He made sure that I would serve as a distraction good enough for him to finalize his plans on Coruscant."

Something cold brushed against Obi-Wans soul. He instinctively knew just how exactly Sidious "made sure" and it was an utterly terrifying concept. Maul was just so... stubborn and capable of overcoming challenges that seemed to be absolutely impossible to overcome. And yet.

"You’ve send the Duchess away," Obi-Wan said carefully.

Maul picked up at what was left unsaid, his unnaturally yellow eyes shining with something that looked like amusement. Then his face expression broke into something more sour, as a corner of his lips moved upwards, while his gaze wandered away.

"I would hardly do him any favors," he said. "Last time I was not fully aware of the situation on Mandalore."

"You took over Mandalore," Obi-Wan said before he managed to bit his tongue.

"I did," Maul agreed, tilting his head to the side as he was asking him what was so important about that, about all the lives that were lost in the process, about the things that burned to the ground before they even managed to fully bloom-

"Satine Kryze is the only thing that stand between Mandalorian star systems and my- Sidious," he explained coldly. "She managed to keep it neutral, despite him trying over and over again to have it swallowed by the Republic."

"You have tarnished her reputation and set her up for murder."

Maul rolled his eyes. "Please," he said. "This one is actually perfectly salvageable."

"If your plan looks like the last one, then I'm afraid to even ask," Obi-Wan grimaced.

Though he felt better. Just a little bit. It was a guilty, selfish feeling of relief; Satine was deemed to be useful by the former Sith, therefore she wasn't in grave danger. Yet. Probably. If whatever Jabba did to these people to accept his ridiculous idea was still working.

Obi-Wan bit the tip of his tongue, hoping that the pain would help him perish these thoughts. He should not worry for a single person when the whole galaxy was in grave danger. it was selfish, it was weak, it spoke so much about how very attached he became despite all the teachings he tried so hard to follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the wait!  
> Couldn't quite find the way to make this chapter satisfying enough. It's still not hitting that exact 'job well done' spot, but the wait was long, the boys needed some time to sit on their assess and talk aaand so on.  
> Anyhow, it's like a mini-epilogue for this mini-arc/prelude to the mess Maul made.
> 
> Next chapter: We are going to switch to someone who became affected by the changes and follow them trying to make sense of an universe that suddenly went sideways.

**Author's Note:**

> No, I'm serious, this is not a crack.  
> Maul had simply no idea how to ask Kenobi for him, so he let the Force do the job for him. The Force is oddly fond of re-using dialogue lines. Or simply as much of a troll as Yoda is.
> 
> The relationship between Ezra and Maul, how the time travel happened in the first place and other things related are going to be explained once out of mortal danger. You know, priorities.


End file.
